TAKING THE LEAD...

We just had our spring RefresHER program for the women at church!  This time the young ladies of the Youth group led out and my class shared some of the work.  The Youth group came up with the theme, the decor, the menu, and supplied the speakers.  Two seniors in the group spoke.  Others helped by being a table hostess (with their mother or another adult), leading a song or prayer, running the sound system, baking the cookies for dessert, helping set up, or babysitting in the nursery.

They did a beautiful job and it just thrills me to see them rise to the occasion when asked!  We must give our girls opportunities to participate and lead out if we expect them to grow into these roles.

 I loved the programs!  It was a combination color sheet/program going with the "creative" theme.

 The tables were really bright and colorful and topped off with home-made cookies for dessert.

 One of our song leaders from the youth group

Proud of these two speakers!

How can you help the young ladies in your life be leaders?  I was told by one of the mothers of these girls that her daughter was a bit reluctant at first when asked to speak.  But the mother gently reminded her of her story and how God had worked in her life the last few years and the value in sharing it.  I'm so glad her mother encouraged her!

BEST WEDDING PLANNING TIPS EVER...

We had a little fun at the "After the Proposal Party" while we were waiting for the future bride and groom to arrive!  I labeled a jar "Wedding Planning Tips" and encouraged people to give them some kind of tip for the wedding.  I thought it would make something fun for them to read later.  The guests did not disappoint - check out a few of them:

ENGAGED/PROPOSAL PARTY...

Our 24 year old son got engaged Saturday!  These two have been dating more than two years and we are thrilled to have her in our family!  He had been planning the proposal for a long time, waiting on the ring, then coinciding it with her best friend being here (she recently moved to Colorado).

We asked if we could host an "After the Proposal Party" and he and the bride's parents agreed.  We invited family members and their close friends.  It was so much fun, even though it went late into the night!

 In the formal dining room we decorated the table with pictures and favorite treats (lemon bars, strawberry cookies, blonde brownies and Eileen's cookies) of the couple.

 We also had some good stuff in the kitchen (pimento cheese from Iron Starr, Chick-fil-a nuggets, Strawberry Trifle, and more sweets)

We were hoping to use the patio more but the weather was a little too chilly.  We opened the pool and hung lights out there so we are looking forward to using it for a few more parties this summer!

The happy parents!  So blessed to be of one mind and heart over this.  The Hubs said a few words and her Dad said a prayer of blessing when they arrived at the party.

Our son is a Photographer/Videographer so he made his bride-to-be a photo book of their experiences the last two years.

The greenery/flower garland is a beautiful live piece the kids brought over from the proposal site.  It was over 20 feet long!  We quickly draped it on the stairs!

It was so much fun to surprise our sweet new daughter-in-law and we were thrilled to celebrate with all these who love this couple so much.  Looking forward to celebrating their marriage in October!

SMALL INVESTMENTS...

Sometimes small investments reap big dividends!  (This thought from an accountant friend of mine; certainly not in my line of thinking)  But it's true, you never know what little things you do that are not little to others...

We housed some boys for three Spring Breaks in a row from Houston, and one of those young men came to our home all three times.  They came in a school group to do mission work in our inner city.

 Recently my boys went on a Spring Break trip to California, and they got together with one of our Houston boys (who is now in college there) for the day!

Then this week another one of our Houston boys who is here for the mission trip got an hour away and came by the house to see us!  The school group is no longer staying in homes.  :(  He is now a senior in high school and we had some good talk about what's next.  He just so happened to have the same name as the dog (Tucker), so of course we had to get a picture with them together!

Just loving on people and maybe doing something unexpected or out of your comfort zone is what Jesus did.  Some of them became followers and some we never hear of again, in the Bible.  I wish I could say that I'm always ready to love in this way.  These boys from Houston were a joy, and the fact that we also had teenage boys ready to befriend them helped with our hospitality.  It's nice to hear from them!

A DIFFERENT KIND OF ORLANDO TRIP...

So I've been to Orlando, FL so many times I really can't remember!  Not boasting, just a statement.  The Hubs gets to go often for business and I join him as much as possible to soak up some good weather and  little fun.

This time wasn't spent in amusement parks and I didn't really have transportation so I just enjoyed the resort.  The Hubs is a Marriott member so most of the time that's where we try to stay.  We were in the Marriott Vacation Club Cypress Harbor Resort.  The best part about this place is the wonderful screened in porch and the amenities.  I went to their exercise classes each morning, rented a bike one afternoon, read at poolside, and also got a facial at their spa.  Not only is this place beautiful, the activities on site are great.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

We got free tickets from a relative so we took in a dinner show called Super Sleuths.  It was a fun evening - more comedy than mystery - and lots of audience participation.   The meal was, well, free, so I couldn't complain.

We did find a restaurant we LOVED - Bonefish Grill.  I think we had eaten at one of these in Little Rock, AR a long time ago.  But this time we ate dinner there two nights in a row!  Funny, usually I'm more adventurous and want to try new places but we were content to just go back for more good seafood on this trip.  AND we got a tip about Ginther's Ice Cream from a resort guest and it is about the creamiest soft-serve ice cream I've ever eaten.

So yes, my point is you can do Orlando without going to a theme park!

(sorry, just couldn't help being a little cheesy here!)

YOU'RE A GOOD, GOOD FATHER...

This song has taken on a special meaning to me as I sang it this weekend with a large group of women.

“You are perfect in all of your ways” three times over is ingrained in my brain now as I worshipped and took in the beautiful stage complete with balloons, paper tassels, twinkle lights and all manner of girly-ness. Then I had a moment. A moment in which the atmosphere and music and the love of God filled me up. Then I realized that as perfect as the moment seemed, it is NOTHING compared to the beauty of what God has prepared for us!

He is a good, good Father.

CHRIS TOMLIN LYRICS

"Good Good Father"

Oh, I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like
But I've heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night
And you tell me that you're pleased
And that I'm never alone

You're a Good, Good Father
It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

Oh, and I've seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we're all searching
For answers only you provide
Cause you know just what we need
Before we say a word

You're a Good, Good Father
It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

Cause you are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways to us

You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways to us

Oh, it's love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think

As you call me deeper still [x3]
Into love, love, love

[x3:]
You're a Good, Good Father
It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

You're a Good, Good Father
(You are perfect in all of your ways)
It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are
And I'm loved by you
(You are perfect in all of your ways)
It's who I am, it's who I am it's who I am

MY (RECENT) HAPPY PLACE...

The winter quarter is coming to an end, and so is the class, "Getting Creative with God."  It's been a little stressful but mostly a joy!  My prayer was that in this class there would be some different ideas introduced and ladies would try them and perhaps use them as they engage in quiet time with God.  I've really loved it, personally.  I don't have pictures of every activity we did, but here's a little sample of some of the visual arts activities we've done:

We did some Bible Journaling...

Learned about spiritual scrapbooking...

This is the word I chose with our "word of the year" activity.

We did some watercolor with masking fluid.   I ended up making them into postcards - my favorite activity!

For our last class, we had what I called "Class Collaboration" night.  Two weeks ago I asked everyone to think about something they could share. It could be something they just learned in the class and really are incorporating into their quiet time, or just sharing a creative service project or even suggesting to everyone a Bible study they loved.

We had all kinds of ideas offered, like making a Pinterest page using your word of the year, or a whole journal dedicated to your word.  Another suggestion was using received Christmas cards to pray for each family.  I have done this long ago, but this suggestion was different.  She made a poster that says, "praying for..." and puts the card onto it.  They choose a new card and pray for that family all week.  She also emails the family and asks how they can be praying for them.  I loved that idea!  Another idea was to take a picture on your phone of your Bible journaling and send it out once a week to your family members to stay in touch.  These were just a few of the suggestions.

A bonus for me is that I have memorized Ephesians 3:16 since I have prayed it each Wednesday night for this quarter!  It has become more meaningful to me.  So I will pray it for all of you, my blog buddies:  "I pray that out of His glorious riches you will be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit in your inner being."

I would love to hear how you all spend your quiet time whether it's a walking quiet time or a special study, or maybe it's creative!